Special thanks to New Leaf Publishing Group for sending me a copy of this book as a member of Moms of Master Books to help facilitate the writing of this review.
The Universe Book Description:
The Universe: From Comets to Constellations helps students become engaged in the scientific process through their own natural curiosity. Using every day household items, the inexpensive experiments help bring science to life.
About the Authors:
Carolyn Reeves is especially skilled at creating ways to help students develop a greater understanding of not just scientific concepts, but also how these are applied within the world around us. Carolyn retired after a 30-year career as a science teacher, finished a doctoral degree in science education, and began a new venture as a writer and an educational consultant. She and her husband make their home in Oxford, Mississippi, where they are active members of North Oxford Baptist Church. The Reeves have three children, three in-law children, and ten grandchildren.
Tom DeRosa is an experienced science teacher and a committed creationist. He has incorporated both his passions in the founding and the directing of the Creation Studies Institute, a growing national creation organization whose chief focus is education. His wealth of experience in the public school, Christian school, and homeschool markets for over 35 years has given special insights into what really works in engaging young minds. He is an author and sought-out, enthusiastic creation speaker who has a genuine love for the education of our next generation.
Book Details:
- Series: Elementary Science
- Paperback: 88 pages
- Publisher: Master Books (April 14, 2014)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0890517975
- ISBN-13: 978-0890517970
- Retail Price: $12.99
- Student Journal: $4.99
- Teacher’s Guide: $4.99
My Thoughts:
The Universe is the latest book in the elementary science series from Master Books. Like the other books in the series, The Universe uses common household items to perform lots of hands-on activities to help enhance the learning experience. Each of the 20 Investigations begin with an overview which helps students begin thinking about the topic and what they know or don’t know about it. The students are then presented with some questions about the topic that will be covered during the investigation. A supply list is provided for the experiment, and the procedures for the experiment are laid out for the students.
The students will then have a lesson to cover the topics from the experiment. The discussion questions and making connections section help students apply what they have learned in both the experiment portion and the lesson portion. The dig deeper portion allows students to move beyond the basic lesson and learn more about the topic. The investigation concludes with review questions.
Topics covered in this book include things like:
- The Universe
- Expansion of the Universe
- Measuring Space
- Planetary Orbits
- Invisible Forces in the Universe
- Galileo and Inertia
- Making Telescopes
- History of Flight
- The Earth’s Atmosphere
- The Moon
- The Planets
- The Sun
- Constellations
- and much more…
The teacher’s guide provides a lesson plan and answer key to the student text. A small version of the student text is pictured in the teacher’s guide, so you can see everything contained in the student book.
The student journal is a place where students can record all their findings from the experiment and write down their answers to all the questions in the investigation. While it’s not a critical component, it is a nice addition as it keeps all of the student’s work in one location. The student journal works as a lab book and journal all-in-one.
The Universe: From Comets to Constellations is presented from a Biblical worldview. The hands-on approach to learning makes learning astronomy fun. This series is geared towards elementary students but is fun for older kids as well.
